5 Commandments for using a helper (On Topic)

[joeboodog]

I also tell helpers that I won't make them walk a driveway that I wouldn't walk.

 

[Scottyhawk]

How about the don't close the door as soon as you sit down commandment when it is not even cold outside

 

[scratch]

I get off my tail and deliver stops too, I can't stand staying in the cab all day. I try to get as many stops on the left side that I can if I have my deliveries sorted and ready to go. I encourage my Helper all day too, some kind words go a long way. I work the crap out of people, but I treat them with respect.

 

[jumpman23]

I get off my tail and deliver stops too, I can't stand staying in the cab all day. I try to get as many stops on the left side that I can if I have my deliveries sorted and ready to go. I encourage my Helper all day too, some kind words go a long way. I work the crap out of people, but I treat them with respect.

Same here, everything to the left i hit and everything to the right he hits. Make better time that way when 2 people are delivering. Some of these dumby drivers dont get that if you make your jumper deliver everything your not going to make as good on time. Some have the mentality that if it gets done, it gets done n if it dont it dont. Id rather get every stop done that day. I hope they realize that the stops they dont get done that day will be on there tomorrow anyway and youll be that much heavier lol. Dont get me wrong if they have a absolutely retarded amount of stops on there that i know isnt going to get done then i will have the mentality of oh well lol. Have only had to bring back stops 1 time in 16 years n that was because of running out of hours on a friday night cause i would have went over 60 hours.

 

[Gear]

#1--Thou shalt make safety thy first concern.

On day 1, I always give my helper a 5 min lecture on staying safe. That means NO RUNNING, PERIOD. That means 100% use of the handrail when entering or exiting, no exceptions. That means that, if I screw up and start the engine before they have the seatbelt buckled, they are to YELL at me to STOP. We are in a HURRY, which means I dont have time to take them to the hospital if they get injured. There is always time to do the job safely, and no package is ever worth getting hurt or killed over.

#2 Thou shalt treat thine helper with respect.

I treat my helper as a teammate, not a slave. Out of necessity I must be the boss, but I dont have to be an ass about it. When instructing them what to do, I throw in a few "please's" and "thank you's" here and there to keep things friendly. I encourage them to be an extra set of eyes and to never be afraid to tell me if they think I am at the wrong address. I screw up sometimes, especially under peak season conditions, and I'm not afraid to admit it. My helper gets a "high five" if they call me on giving them the wrong package for the stop. Most importantly...if I am frustrated or upset with management or with the workload in general, I dont take it out on them. Its not the helpers fault that the load is crap or that my boss is a maroon.

#3 Thou shalt see to it that thine helper is properly paid for their time

If you lack the willingess to pull over and take a 1/2 hour lunch and 15 min break....then at least allow your helper to do so. Or...dont enter a lunch at all on their time card. Whatever you do, make sure they are fully paid for every minute they spend working. They are barely making minimum wage, you make 4 or even 5 times what they do on OT, so dont screw them out of 15 minutes of pay just so that you can look better on a stupid report. I also give my helpers my phone # and instruct them to notify me of any payroll errors or shortages on their check. If my helper gets shorted, I make it my personal mission in life to find whoever is responsible and ride their ass like a dirty diaper if necessary until the problem gets corrected. For $9 an hour they shouldnt have to call a 1-800 number and argue about getting paid properly.

#4 Thou shalt not place unrealistic expectations upon thine helper

I've been a driver for 24 years. I know how to operate at the "UPS pace". A newly hired helper doesnt. They cant read my mind. What comes automatically to me is new to them. They probably have little or no useful DIAD training, and the first day on a blown-out package car can seem overwhelming to them. Be patient. They will pick things up faster if you are understanding and helpful instead of impatient and critical. Respect any physical limits your helper may have. I have had 100 lb gals who needed my help with heavy packages, but who were still going strong after 10 hrs and were far better helpers than the "he-men" with big muscles who got lazy and crapped out on me after 4 or 5. And if you have a female helper who needs more "bathroom stops" than you do...deal with it. I always communicate with my helper about the location of nearby restrooms, and if they gotta go they gotta go. It is totally inappropriate to expect a helper of either gender to pee in the bushes or go 8 hrs with no bathroom break just because you can.

#5 Thou shalt share thine tips and buy thine helper lunch.

Helpers are making barely more than minimum wage. Drivers make 5 times that much on overtime. If I have a helper who is hustling and working hard, then the occasional $5 or $10 bill that comes to me in a card from a customer gets handed to them. When we stop at a restraunt for lunch, I pick up the tab for both of us. I have had a lot of helpers who were literally broke (why else would they work for minimum wage) and they show up with some nasty cold lunch in a brown bag. I am not going to sit in a warm restraunt and eat yummy food while they sit in the cold truck and eat leftovers. That's not teamwork.


Thou shalt obey these commandments without question, or karma will kick your ass!

You don't seem like the typical arrogant, self centered, "what about me" driver. Excellent post. Because in the end we ALL put our pants on one leg at a time. You deserve new tires, and doors that open and close with 1 finger.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Love these commandments, rule #1 i am on the fence about as far as no running is concerned, I'm ready to get done and go home ASAP after working preload that morning, if I don't run I get no sleep before preload the next morning.

And that is exactly the mentality UPS wants drivers to have. That mentality means more work for you instead of giving you a reasonable amount that can be done without having to run and violate the methods and the contract.

 

[hellfire]

And that is exactly the mentality UPS wants drivers to have. That mentality means more work for you instead of giving you a reasonable amount that can be done without having to run and violate the methods and the contract.

sounds like a good helper to me

 

[hellfire]

I had a helper years ago that was 4 and a half months pregnant. She sat in the jump seat for the day and I made sure to get a new one the next day

 

[rod]

I have to admit that the older I got the more work I shoved off on my helper----------it sucks to be young sometimes.

 

[Turdferguson]

I had a helper years ago that was 4 and a half months pregnant. She sat in the jump seat for the day and I made sure to get a new one the next day

I had one in his sixties who had spent the night before passing kidney stones, spent about three hours with me just moaning in the jumper seat, at stinking up the package car.

 

[rod]

The worst one I ever had was the son of a fellow driver.

 

[jaker]

I have been fairly lucky the past few years and this is my last peak and I get my son one more time

 

[HardknocksUPSer]

And that is exactly the mentality UPS wants drivers to have. That mentality means more work for you instead of giving you a reasonable amount that can be done without having to run and violate the methods and the contract.

I totally understand that and 100% agree with you, however I am not a driver and as a helper my only job is to get the package in the business or to the door and the faster I go the faster I get home to bed so I can work my normal shift, helper is a piece of cake compared to preload and I have to have some rest for preload.

 

[HardknocksUPSer]

Preload is a piece of cake....I didn't break a sweat today....lol

I'm glad your preload is easy, our local sort is easy and preload is hell compared to local sort, helper is literally the easiest thing I've done at UPS besides car wash.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

sounds like a good helper to me

Fast doesn't equate to being good.

I totally understand that and 100% agree with you, however I am not a driver and as a helper my only job is to get the package in the business or to the door and the faster I go the faster I get home to bed so I can work my normal shift, helper is a piece of cake compared to preload and I have to have some rest for preload.

Helpers are typically kept by the driver for a predetermined amount of time. Not for a set amount of production.

 

[toonertoo]

Thy helper should either wear, or not wear gloves. Dont come back from a stop, take them off throw them on the dash and think you have time to put them back on at the next stop, On or off.

 

[HardknocksUPSer]

Fast doesn't equate to being good.


Helpers are typically kept by the driver for a predetermined amount of time. Not for a set amount of production.

My driver chooses me and I choose him, we make our own schedule, I help him get home before 9 and he helps me get my full 12hrs for the day, all without communicating through the driver helper coordinator, much much easier that day, he doesn't have to touch the Diad all day meaning he sorts the truck longer, I keep the board and he has his manifest printed off on paper, much easier that way, those helper boards are dinosaurs.

 

[Theupserinbrown!]

Last year I contacted HR to ask when I would be used but only contacted once since after that I was teamed up with a Driver everyday. I feel special since I know how to use the diad for DR's and Signatures as well and to leave those friendly info notices to tell the Customer to come home.

 

[Peppermint Patty]

This is great and I totally agree. Thanks for sharing good words to live by. Teamwork.

 

[What The Hawk?]

My co-worker said his driver dropped him off with multiple stops worth of boxes and then told him to meet him a few blocks away. Is that what being a driver helper is? Running after a truck after they make you deliver ? He described it as literally running after the truck.